NCO trying to collect without an agreement

I originally posted 2-3 weeks ago asking for advice when my wife received a summons from NCO Portfolio Management. Thanks again for all the responses then.

Since then, we went to court. Here's the full story so far:

Exactly a week before the court date, she called NCO's attorneys, Kramer & Frank, to discuss settling out of court. She offered $100/month if they would drop the suit. The rude representative she spoke with would not accept this, and ended up hanging up on my wife. Before she hung up, she said she would be sending a confirmation of the oral agreement my wife had made. My wife responded that she had agreed to nothing, since her offer was dependent on the suit being dropped. The representative said she would send the confirmation anyway, and hung up.

We received the confirmation on Feb 28. It said, basically, they expected payment of $100/month, and to receive the first payment on the 28th. We ignored this, since there was no agreement.

3 days later, at the courthouse, we spoke with their representative in the area. He offered us basically the same agreement, on the official judgement, in writing, except it says the first payment is due on March 30. We have a copy of this, and it is signed by both the lawyer and my wife.

Today, I dropped off the first payment at the post office, and then arrived home to find a letter from Kramer & Frank. It says:

Quote:

Dear Ms. ----: BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS AGREED, BALANCE IN FULL IS NOW DUE. You may be able to obtain enough money to pay the amount owed in full by borrowing from your Bank, Credit Union, Loan Company or a relative. We will expect the debt to be paid in full, or we will recommend that our client allow us to proceed with further collection activities. CONTACT US UPON RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE TO DISCUSS THE SETTLEMENT.

This sounds like they're trying to collect on the original agreement that never happened. Since the going advice is "keep it in writing," we've drafted the following letter to send to them. Is this appropriate?

Quote:

Dear Sir/Madam, I received today a notice that I “FAILED TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS AGREED” and that my balance in full is now due. This is incorrect. I called your offices 25 February 2008, to discuss settlement out of court. I offered $100.00 per month, beginning immediately, if you would agree to drop your lawsuit. The representative I spoke with would not agree to this stipulation, so the matter was dropped until the court date of 3 March 2008. You still sent a “confirmation” of this oral agreement that never occurred. I never agreed to anything during that telephone call. On 3 March, I spoke with your attorney at the courthouse, and signed an agreement to pay $100.00 per month, with a first due date of 30 March 2008. This agreement, a copy of which is attached, was signed by myself and your representative. This first payment is already in the mail. Please cease demanding payment beyond our actual agreement. With regards,

Will this work? Also, should this letter be certified/return receipt?

Here's the relevant text of the judgement. This is the paper signed by her and the attorney present:

Quote:

Execution stayed upon payment of $100.00 per month beginning on or before March 30, 2008 and continuing on the same day of each successive month thereafter

Thanks again for all the help